Don’t Feed the Depression

We tend to fuel our negative emotions. We fan the flames of ‘bad feelz’. It is unfortunately easy to get caught in a downward spiral of negative emotions, from which escape can become more and more difficult. We have to try and short-circuit this downward spiral as quick as we can. We do this by performing actions that don’t feed the depression.

When you feel bad you are faced with a choice. Do you take the (seemingly) easy option and self-medicate with drugs, alcohol, porn, social media, trash TV, depressing music? Or do you bravely take action to arrest your emotional decent and ‘turn this ship around’?

Don’t Feed the Depression With Unhealthy Vices

When you are feeling emotionally fragile it is especially tempting to choose the short-term gratification that will numb, or put a bandaid over, your negative feelings in this moment. But while smoking a joint, drinking a beer, or diving into Pornhub are all highly effective at numbing negative feelings in the short term, they exacerbate those bad feelings in the medium and longer term. Basically, they are not actually improving your mood. They are simply deadening your emotions for a short period of time. But your bad feelings are still there. And when they are dammed up temporarily by a short-term ‘painkiller’ they tend to rush back in with a vengeance as soon as they get a chance.

Choose Healthy Fixes That Don’t Feed the Depression

So short-term quick fixes that numb your pain are not the answer. But there are plenty of things you can do in the moment when a depressed or anxious or angry state takes you over. There are actions you can take that will improve your mood in the moment, give you a true and lasting lift, and will also benefit you going forward. These actions are rarely as totally devoid of effort as smoking a joint or drinking a beer. These healthy actions require a small shot of willpower on your part. But their impact is so much more lastingly positive that they are well worth the effort.

Exercise, listening to uplifting music, chatting with good friends or family, reading a good book, striking up a chat with a stranger, giving a compliment. All of these healthy actions help you wholesomely. They don’t feed the depression, they set you on an upward spiral and legitimately clear away negative emotional states.